Coin controlled machine



Feb. 12, 1935. B. s. WATLING COINLCONTROLLED MACHINE 2 sneets-shee't 1 Filed April 30, 1934 Feb. 12,1935. B. S. WATLING COIN CONTROLLED MACHINE Filed April 50. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 12, 1935 r i Y TgUNIT D STA E Arm" OFFICE H ooIN CONTROLLED MACHINE.

Burns S. Wat ling, Chicago, 111., assignor to Watling Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois 1 I Application April 30, 1934, Serial No. 723,067

4 Claims. (01. 194-1.)

This invention relates to coin-controlled ap- In the construction shown in the drawings, the paratus of the type having an operating mechainvention is applied to a well known type of vendw nism housed within a casing and actuated by an ing machine but this improvement is equally apactuating member which is normally locked by a plicable to a large number of different coin-con- 5 latch which is adapted to be disabled by cointrolled machines. The drawings illustrate only controlled means'to permit the operating mechathose portions of the vending machine which will nism to function. In this type of machine, the be of assistance in describing the improvement. actuating member located within the casing is In t Construction shown, t ending connected to an external operating lever or chine comprises t usue1 casing 1 having a d V e 7 front wall 2, side walls 3 and 4, respectively, and 10 In the operation of vending machines and simit and b ttom 5 and 6, respectively. Mounted & u-e t dmechanisms, unscrupulous within thelcasing is the operating mechanism persons q e y a p to cheat h m which includes a bell crank lever 7 pivotally chines. Various, methods have been employed supported on a in 8 secured to an uprightb in attemptin t a tuat h operating e et 9. One arm of the bell crank is provided with 15 nism Without i se i a 00111-7 Sometimes a pivoted finger 10 which carries a roller 10.1 external operating handle is struck with considadapted t eeeet t member 1 of t venderable forceand, with machines heretofore in m ethervmeehehism t h A pring use, this has frequently resu t d inrdamage ll connected to the lever 7 and bracket 9 northe actuating member tb that p the mally holds the lever 7 in its retracted position 20 operating mechanism which ec v s th impact against a stop 12. Formed on the lever '7, is a of the actuating membe s attempts a full-stroke rat n tis adapted to cooperate with been made to disable the latch by a sudden and i oted, spring-held dog 14 on the bracket 9 swift initial movement of the operating handle. t pgmpel e eemplete shift of t leverbeiore it The main Objects of i invention are to canbe. returned to normal position. Mounted 25 provide a coin controlled appar tu av an on the forward end of the bell crank 7 is a pin mp v d form f a tuat member for t P- 15 adapted to coact with the, actuating means erating mechanism; to provide improved means hereinafter ib d 7 for Cus i the impact of th actuating m f The operating mechanism is normally locked her a ai s t operating mechanism so as to by a latch bar is pivotally secured to the bracket to p ev nt d ma e to these parts when the handle 9 b a pin 17. Formed in the rear edge of the is Struck with great force; a to Provide an latch bar 16, isa notch 18 for. receiving a lug 19 proved auxiliary latch to limit the stroke of said on t n crank 7 t prevent a 1 t moveactuat member h an attemptois made ment of the bell crank when the latch has not disable or break the m h. been disabled by the proper coin. The latch bar 35 An illustrative embodiment of this invention is normally urged reerwerdly by a spring 20 is shownin the accompanying drawings, W nected to the bracket 9 and to a book 21 formed in: v r v i on the upper end of the latch bar.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a coin- Formed on th in edge f the latch bar, is 40 controlled mechanism part of the casing being a cam portion 22 d t dto co ct with the lug 40 broken W Y- V 19 for holding the latch retracted, as shown in t Fi 2 is a view in fr n elevation of the parts Fig. 1, when the bell crank 7 is moved to its ShOW in r and Showing also the Operating uppermost position. The construction is such handle d improved actuating memberthat the latch permits a limited movement of 3 is d film/94131011, taken from th right the lever '7 without the use of a coin, i. e., the 45 of F a d W g ai parts in dotted lever 7 may move downwardly until thelug 19 outline; abortion f h a ine ine ut w y rides into the notch 18. To permit a complete to show the actuatin m m r. operation of the lever 7, the latch 16 must be a Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the actuating memretained in its retracted position and this is her and its support as viewed from the inside of accomplished by the coin-controlled means. 50 the casing; part of the adjacent wallof the cas- The coin-controlled means includes a coin ing being shown, and part of the operating handle head or chute 23 rigidly secured to the upper being shown in dotted outline. portion of the bracket 9. This chute comprises Fig. 5 is a section, taken on the line 5-5of arear channel member 24 having a front plate F v I I 25 secured theretoby screws 26. The upper portion of the channel member 24 projects above the top of the casing to form the usual neck 27 having a detachable front plate 28 provided with a coin inlet opening 29.

An inserted coin will pass downwardly through the chute and will be arrested in operative position by the toe of a spring-pressed dog 30, which is pivotally connected by a pivot pin 31 to a lug 32 on one side of the chute. The dog is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 2 by a spring 33 connected to the chute by a pin 34. This spring yieldingly retains the dog 30 in position to arrest an inserted coin.

Formed in the front plate 25 of the chute, adjacent the dog 30, is an opening 35 which is slightly smaller than the coin for which the machine is intended. This opening is arranged so that, if any slug or coin smaller than the opening is inserted into the chute, it will be ejected through the opening by means of a plunger 36 which is mounted on the upper end of the latch bar 16 and which is adapted to be projected through an opening 3'7 in the rear channel member 24. As the latch shifts from its normal position, shown in Fig. 1, to its locking position under the action of the spring 20, during the initial movement of the bell crank 7, the plunger 36 is forced forwardly through the alined openings 3'7 and 35 in the coin chute. If a coin of proper size is in operative position in the coin chute, it will stop the plunger 36, so as to prevent the latch 16 from being shifted to its locking position under the action of the spring 20, and the operative movement of the bell crank '7 may then be completed. 7

The inserted coin is pushed downwardly from operative position by a lug 42 which projects through a pair of arcuate slots 43 and 44 formed in the front and back walls, respectively, of the chute. The lug 42 is mounted on an arm 45 which is pivotally secured to the chute by a pin 46 and it is actuated by a link 47 which is pivotally secured to the arm 45 and bell crank '7 by pins 48 and 49, respectively. The link 47 holds the arm 45 in the normal position shown in Fig. 2 with the lug 42 located adjacent a shoulder 50 on one edge of the coin slot. This shoulder deflects the inserted coins so that they will pass around the lug 42 and between this lug and the opposite edge of the slot.

The initial movement of the bell crank lever '7 will not depress the arm 45 sufliclently to bring the lug 42 into engagement with the coin in operative position in the coin chute but, when a coin of proper size is located in operative position, the complete shift of the bell crank '7 will swing the arm 45 downwardly so that the lug 42 will engage the coin in operative position and force it downwardly past the dog 30 which is thereby retracted against the action of the spring 33 In the form shown, the lower portion of the chute is provided with means for arresting two coins below the operative position, and a window (not shown) is placed in the front wall of the casing so that the owner of the machine may see the arrested coins for the purpose of detecting slugs which might be used by unscrupulous persons. The arresting means comprises a lever 51 which is pivotally connected to the rear wall of the chute by a pin 52 and normally urged toward the coins by a spring 53 connected to the pin 34. The lower end of this lever is provided with a forwardly projecting lug 54 which extends beneath the lower end-of the coin slot.

Another lug 55 on the lever 51 extends through an opening 56 in the rear wall of the chute.

When a coin is forced downwardly from the operative position, it will be arrested by the lug 55 and a cooperating shoulder 5'7 formed on the opposite edge of the coin slot. When another coin is similarly forced downwardly from operative position, it will engage the winch lug 55 and shoulder 5'7 and force it downwardly to the lowermost position in the chute where it will be temporarily retained by the lug 54 anda shoulder 58 on the opposite edge of the chute. When still another coin is inserted and then forced downwardly from operative position, the lowermost coin will be forced from the chute into the usual receiving magazine (not shown).

The improved actuating means for manually actuating the operating mechanism hereinbefore described includes an external handle 59 having an integral hub 60 journalled in a bushing 61 which is secured to the right-hand wall 4 of the casing by screws 62.

Located within the casing, is an arm 63 which is clamped to the hub '60 of the handle by a bolt 64. In order to secure the arm 63 and handle 59 against relative turning, the hub 60 has a pair of inwardly extending lugs 65 which engage apertures 66 in the arm. On the rear edge of the arm 63, is a hook 6'7 engaging a spring 68 which is connected to the casing for normally holding the arm 63 against a stop 69, thereby holding the operating handle 59 in the vertical position shown in Fig. 3.

Formed on the arm 63, is a pair of bearing lugs or ears '70 which supports a pivot pin '71 on which is pivotally mounted an actuating member '72 having a substantially fiat face '73 adapted to engage the pin 15 of the bell crank '7 for actuating the operating mechanism. In order to cushion the impact of the member '72 against the pin 15, a heavy cushioning spring '74 is interposed between opposed faces of the member '72 and the arm 63. This spring is secured against displacement by bosses '75 formed on the arm and actuating member.

Formed in the actuating member '72, is a recess '76 in which is located a detent '77 which is pivotally secured to the actuating member by a pin '78 located adjacent the upper wall of the recess. This detent is normally held by gravity in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Mounted on the casing is a stop '79 located adjacent the path of the free end of the detent '77. The positions of the stop 79 and detent are such that, when the handle 59 is operated in a'normal manner the detent will lie against the lower wall of the recess '76 and its free end will clear the stop '79.

Some unscrupulous persons who operate these machines, move the handle quickly in an attempt to cause the lug 19 of the bell crank '7 to jump the notch 18 of the latch before the latch can be shifted to locking position by the spring 20. If such an attempt is made with this improved machine. the detent '77 will be shifted to the upper portion of the recess '76 as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 4, and, in this position, its free end will extend forwardly sufiiciently to engage the stop '79 when the actuating member is rocked.

The operation of the machine and the advantages of the improved actuating means are believed apparent from the foregoing description.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention has been herein shown and described, it will be understood that details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim: V

1. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a casing, of operating mechanism therein, a latch for said mechanism, coin-controlled means for disabling said latch to permit the operation of said mechanism, an external handle, an arm connected tosaid handle and located within the casing, an actuating member for said mechanism, said'member being pivoted on said arm, and a cushion spring interposed between said member and a portion of said arm.

2. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a, casing, of operating mechanism therein, a latch for said mechanism, coin-controlled means for disabling said latch to permit the operation of said mechanism, an external handle journaled on said casing, an arm located within said casing and fixed on said handle, an actuating member pivoted on said arm for actuating said mechanism,and a cushion spring bearing between said member and a portion of said arm for cushioning the impact of said member against said operating mechanism.

3. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a casing, of operating mechanism therein, a latch for said mechanism arranged to permit a limited movement of said mechanism, coincontrolled means for disabling said latch to permit the complete operation of said mechanism,

an actuating member movably mounted within said casing for actuating said mechanism, an external handle for said actuating member, a stop located adjacent the-path of movement of said member, and a detent pivotally mounted on said member in position to clear said stop during the normal operation of said member but being adapted to be shifted outwardly into position to engage said stop when said actuating member is initially moved above a pre-determined speed.

4. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a casing, of operating mechanism therein, a latch for said mechanism arranged to permit a limited movement of said mechanism, coincontrolled means for disabling said latch to permit the complete operation of said mechanism, an

external handle journaled on said casing, an arm connected to said handle and located within said casing, an actuating member pivoted on said arm and movable thereby through a predetermined path for actuating said mechanism, a cushion spring interposed between said member and arm,

a stop located adjacent the path of said member, and a detent pivotally mounted on said member in position to clear said stop during the normal operation of said member but being adapted to be shifted outwardly into position to engage said stop when said actuating member is initially moved above a predetermined speed.

BURNS S. WATLING. 7 

